Category: Sports

  • Volleyball Bumps Up the Competition

    The Lady Jackrabbits made volleyball look easy last Thursday, September 17, with their win against Cabrillo in the Poly gym.  It is clear that the Poly girls volleyball team is ready for a great season, especially since Poly won in the first thre sets against the Cabrillo Jaguars, earning the Jackrabbits their first Moore League victory of the 2015-2016 season.

    Although the girls beat them in three sets, Cabrillo did manage to rally some points against the Jackrabbits in the third set, with scores of 25-10, 25-14, and 25-20.  Sophomore Kalyah Williams assisted the win as a middle blocker managing 14 kills throughout the match.

    From September 18 to 19, the volleyball team travelled to Las Vegas for the infamously competitive Durango Fall Classic.  Poly finished with five wins and two losses, taking second place in the silver bracket.  The Jackrabbits ended the tournament above the two other Moore League teams, Lakewood and Wilson.  The girls placed tenth out of 64 teams in tournament, which was a great accomplishment for the team.

    “We fought hard and never gave up.  We supported each other no matter what the score was,” said senior libero Frances Camandang.

    The girls have great team chemistry and play as a unit, which aided them in defeating some really tough teams at the tournament.

    “Why not us?” said Sammie Ah-Hong.  The team was considered to be the underdog but the girls proved their critics wrong.  Nobody had any expectations for the girls volleyball team this season, but so far, they have shown the higher level teams that they can compete  and proved why the Jackrabbits are the volleyball team to look out for this year.

    The girls fought the tough teams and showed endurance through both long days of playing.

    Outside Sammie Ah-Hong had a great run that weekend averaging about 12 kills per match.  Freshman setter Elizabeth Schuster had the team’s back on both days, showing her endurance and reliability to the team.  Junior Penina Tusa, who is usually a setter but plays outside hitter out of necessity, averaged ten kills a set as Poly’s other outside hitter.

    “The tournament was very nerve-racking but I’m glad I got to experience it with these girls,” said sophomore Kalyah Williams.

    Poly will continue playing in Moore league this week, going up against Jordan on Tuesday, September 22 and Lakewood on Thursday, September 24.

    The Lakewood vs. Poly game is expected to bring a crowd,  being that the Lancers have been a competitive rival for Poly girls volleyball for a number of years.

  • Hawai’i H2O

    Hawai’i H2O

    Even though the girls’ water polo season will not officially start until December, the Lady Jackrabbits have been competing all summer. Most recently, the girls visited Honolulu, Hawai’i to participate in the 47th Annual Hawaiian Invitational. The girls’ water polo team competed in five games and ended with a 3-2 record.

    “[They] were in a bracket with some of the toughest teams around,” said assistant coach Tristan Brightenburg. “The girls beat the team that they needed to beat, and competed with teams who overlooked them.”

    Even though the girls lost to the Newport and Honolulu teams, they still beat the Vikings, Meriden and Pomona teams. However, the sole purpose of this trip was not just to compete in the tournament; this annual trip also served as a great bonding experience for the team.

    “The bigger picture of that tournament is to make memories…I’m glad to know that they had a great time together,” added Brightenburg.

    Before heading to Hawaii, the girls also participated in the Junior Olympics from August 1-2. The girls competed as a 16U team and ended the weekend with a silver medal in the bronze division.

    The girls’ season will not start for a while, so while they prepare for the season ahead, keep an eye out for upcoming games in boys’ water polo.

  • Jackrabbits Outrun Coyotes

    Jackrabbits Outrun Coyotes

    The Poly Jackrabbits kicked off their football season on August 27 with a road trip to Peoria, Arizona to face the Centennial Coyotes.

    The Jackrabbits managed to pull through a rough start with a 13-12 win, despite a plethora of penalties and a slow offense. “We’re a young team and a lot of our current starters are starting for the first time,” said senior linebacker Sergio Villaseñor.

    The Poly offense struggled to find a rhythm in the first half, coming up scoreless. With many new starters, the Poly offense had a rough start, racking up 16 penalties by the end of the game. Fortunately, the relentless Poly defense kept a manageable score for Poly to make a comeback. Junior linebacker Joshua Brown intercepted the Centennial quarterback early in the game and helped set the tone for the stout defense. At halftime, Centennial led 6-0.

    The second half for Poly featured a more explosive and organized offense, including a 60-yard touchdown pass from senior receiver Jack Jones, earning Poly a close 7-6 lead. Soon after, another Coyote touchdown put the Coyotes ahead 12-7.

    When the passing attack for Poly struggled, junior quarterback Nolan McDonald ran effectively to get first downs and keep the Jackrabbit offense on the field. Running back Michael Mauai had a strong varsity debut with a fourth quarter touchdown, putting Poly ahead 13-12 for the Jackrabbits’ eventual win.

    “Our offense started off slow and we obviously hurt ourselves with penalties, but our defense played strong the entire game,” said Villaseñor.

    The rest of the Jackrabbits’ schedule includes other difficult games, with road games to Las Vegas and Northern California to face nationally ranked Bishop Gorman and De La Salle. Today, the Jackrabbits will face Narbonne, an opponent sure to trouble the Jackrabbits.

    Luckily, the Jackrabbits know what needs improvement and plan to work even harder in practice. “We have one game under our belts so we’ve made our adjustments so that we’re ready for Narbonne,” said Villaseñor.

  • Title Dreams Swim Away

    Title Dreams Swim Away

    Neither the girls nor boy swim teams were able to claim the Moore League championship title this year at the Cabrillo Aquatic Center, both coming in second to the Wilson Bruins.

    Victory seemed to be in reach for the girls swim team going into Moore League finals on Friday, May 8, having gone undefeated for the entire season. However, suffering from an unfortante turn of events, the girls lost their chance to reclaim their Moore League title. One of their key swimmers, freshman Fion Quach, suffered from an i11074261_10206819585391890_8045429563950839043_nnjury where she twisted both her ankles, preventing her from particpating in finals.

    “We made a game plan for Friday, but when Fion told me about her injury one hour before start time, my        heart sank,” said head coach Kalani Caldwell. “She was a guarnteed forty points. However, the girls still swam according to the gameplan. For me, we did win.” Even though the girls entered with a higher score from consolation, and won seven out of eleven events, they were unable overcome the Bruins.

    The day before, May 7, the boys had their final meet were they were they were defeated by the 43 year reigning champions. “We have a very young team. Ninty percent of them are freshmans and sophomores,”

    said head coach Eddie Kim. Beside their loss, both the boys and girls had exceptional swims. sophomore, Jack Neaton was the first person in ten years to go under a minute for the 100-yard breaststroke, with a time of 59.93. In addition, the girls 200- Medly relay time broke the meet record at Moore Leaue finals with a time of 1:49.47.

  • Baseball Just Swangin’

    Baseball Just Swangin’

    This year our baseball had an okay season finishing a little under .500 overall. On Saturday May 9th, Poly played a very tough game against the Loyala Cubs. In the top of the first inning the Jackrabbits were able to put one run on the board but the Cubs responded quickly with 5 runs.

    Poly was only able to score one more run in the third inning but it was no match for the 4 more runs Loyala later scored. At the end of the game, the score was 9-2 Loyola. On Wednesday May 12th, they played Cabrillo in an easy win. Poly scored 9 runs in the first inning and from there the rest of the game came extremely easy. The final score was 14-6 and it was great win to boost the team’s confidence for the rival game against Wilson the next day.

    The following day they played the Wilson Bruins. Poly started off on top scoring 2 runs in the first inning, leading until the fourth inning where the Bruins scored 3 runs. From this point on Wilson led the rest of the game and it ended with a 5-2 loss to the Bruins. This was the last game of the Moore League and from the Jackrabbits were headed to the Division 1 CIF playoffs. The season was cut short with a 5-1 loss against the Edison Chargers, earlier last week.

    It was a pretty intense game as the Chargers took an early lead, scoring 5 straight in the second inning. The Jackrabbits were in a shut out until the fifth inning when they were able to score a run. This was the only run the Jackrabbits were able to score and they ended the game with a 5-1 loss.

    The Jackrabbits had a great season but unfortunately could not finish on top.

    “This team is really close. We were friends before high school and we have grown even closer three years later. ,” said juniot Deyvn Collado.

    “We hate to see the seniors go and we wish we could of finished the season better for them. Next season were losing a great pitcher so hopefully the team is ready to step up because we have a lot of talent coming up next year.” Poly says goodbye to seniors, Paul Estrada, Josh Fischer, Noah Belkin, Emiliano Estrada, Jacob Zinger, Josh Rios, Val Stammler, James Crabtree-Hannigan, and Eddie Oliver.

    “It was good experience to pitch for Poly. If I had got got into pitching, I would not have gotten a scholarship for baseball, specfically pitching at Cal State Fullerton,” said Rios.

    Though it was not the ideal way to end the season it is still time to say goodbye to the seniors and time for the returning team to go into offseason ready to prepare for next year.

    “ We’re preparing next season with team practice and conditioning,” said junior Taylor Gravey.“We’re getting started early with offseason work for next season so hopefully we’re able to get on top of the ball.”

  • Track Takes CIF

    Track Takes CIF

    The Poly boys and girls track and field team competed at CIF finals at Cerritos College. In a close finish for the team title, the girls won another CIF-Southern Section Championship. The girls track team won its eighth consecutive CIF title in the sport

    The girls started off the meet with the 4×100 meter relay. Poly holds the national record in this event, and has the second fastest time in California this year. The relay competed better than expected, and, aided by a strong third leg by Junior Maya Perkins, crossed the finish line in first place (46.22 seconds).

    The athletes competed for placing, which added valuable points.

    Senior Je’Neal Ainsworth was a vital part to the team’s success. Ainsworth grabbed valuable points, winning the triple jump with a new personal record of 36 feet 8 inches. She also scored points with her fourth place finish in the 100-meter hurdles (14.68).

    “To help the team win a title, I felt valuable,” said Ainsworth.

    Trackrabbits also placed well in the 100 meter dash, with Perkins, freshman Ariyonna Augistine, and sophomore Kenyla Miles placing fourth, sixth, and seventh, respectively. Sophomore Melissa Tanaka placed eighth in the 1600m (5:11.97), and many others scored points in high jump, long jump, and triple jump.

    Senior Chris Polk was the only Poly boy to qualify for CIF finals as an individual. Polk finished eight in the 800-meter race, with a time of 1:57.34. The 4×400-meter relay finished in fourth place with a time of 3:18.52. It consisted of senior Chris Donawa, sophomore Zion Bowens, junior Cameron Brown, and senior Chris Polk. Unfortunately the relay was disqualified for a lane violation.

    Despite the abrupt end to his track season, Chris Donawa remained positive.

    “My team always pushed me to do my best and be the best that I can be. It’s hard to be a ‘rabbit, so I always held my head up high and put my best foot forward, win or lose,” said Donawa.

    “[Winning] was very exciting for the team as a whole. We were doubted by others going in,” said head coach Crystal Irving

    The team will continue their path to the California State meet, and races next at the CIF Masters meet at Cerritos College on May 30. The girls are defending state champions, and have won the state championship 14 times in total.

  • Freshman Emily Knous, a phenomenal mid center of the Poly Varsity Soccer Team, has recently participated in the national championships for Olympic Development Teams.

    Having been selected for the first time to play in the national champsionships from the Olympic Development Program, which she has been a part of for four years, Knous carried her team to victory after double over time and penalty kicks.

    Her team placed first in the nation after facing off the three other regional teams in the United States.

    However, Knous’ astounding accomplishments don’t stop there; she is a student in CIC and plays violin in Poly’ssymphonic orchestra.

    “Balancing it is a big part of everything because academics has always come first before soccer,” says Knous about her crazy schedule.

    “[I have to find] the time and make the most of doing homework in the car.”

    Knous aspires to play soccer at a high college level after high school, and become a professional soccer player. If soccer doesn’t work out, she hopes to work in marketing for Nike.

    Being in the Olympic Development Program exposes Knous to the top tier athletes in the nation, her among them.

    “Meeting girls all over the country is a really fun experience because no matter where you go, you see friends you don’t necessarily get to see every day,” says Knous.

    Knous says that most of all she has her parents to thank for helping her achieve her goals thus far. She also cites her personal trainer Jason Martinez as a “huge part of [her] success.”

  • Water Polo is A First Round Sinker

    The 2014-2015 water polo season has come to an end as the girls were devastated by a 21-7 upset against San Clemente on Thursday, February 19. Beside their first round cut from CIF, the girls finished second in Moore League, losing against the Bruins on Jan 22. but prevailing against Lakewood on Jan. 29th and Millikan on Feb .12.

    On Feb. 20, the girls entered CIF-Prelims, playing San Clemente, who was seeded second in CIF-D2. The girls hoped to continue onto CIF finals, but unfortunately were not able push past San Clemente as they took a devastating 21-7 loss. While most of San Clemenete’s goals were shot by their aggressive set player, Poly’s sophomore Julia Mangandi put up four goals, accompanied by two from freshman Sydney Brightenburg.

    “Their set player was the one scoring most of their points. She would get the ball and the posession wouldn’t be close to over when she would already have had scored,” said Captain Carina Monaco.

    As their final game of the Moore League season, the girls faced the Millikan Rams on Thursday, Feb. 12. It seemed as if it would be a close game as the Rams came really aggressive, shooting two goals the first quarter. As the game progressed the Rams slowly started to give into Poly’s persisting offensive, giving up eight goals by the end of the game. Mangdani led the scoreboards with three goals, followed by juniors Carina Monaco and Taylor Martin who each had two, with Brightenburg scoring the last goal of the game. The jackrabbits put their final win for the season in the books with a 8-2 victory.

    “Overall the season was pretty good. We finished second in Moore League and everyone progressed a lot this year. It wasn’t a bad season,” said Martin.

  • Basketball Gets a Second Chance

    This week the boys and girls basketball team will continue their season in a march through the state playoffs. But prior to this week both teams lost and are out of the race to a CIF Championship.

    After losing a tough game to Chino Hills, the boys team were given the task to remain undefeated in the rest of the CIF playoffs if they wanted to continue their season and play for State.

    “After the first round loss we had to regroup and figure out what we needed to do in order to win the rest of our games,” said junior Drew Buggs.

    Their first challenge was Price. This was an easy away victory for the boys as shown by the score throughout the entire game, never letting Price get control of the game. The Jackrabbits led the whole game and finished it with an effortless win and score of 67-50.

    Their next opponent was St. John Bosco. Poly had the upper hand until half time when Bosco led by 1 point going into the 3rd quarter. However, at the end of the 3rd, Poly controlled the lead and was up by 4. The remaining quarter of the game was a back and forth battle between the two teams, but fortunately the Jackrabbits were able to pull through with a 10 point victory over St. John Bosco.

    Junior Drew Buggs maneuvers the ball on the court.
    Marco Montemayor
    Junior Drew Buggs maneuvers the ball on the court.

    Fortunately, Poly was able to come through with a win. This was vital because with this win they are able to advance to the State playoffs.

    “Now were on a 3 game win streak and we hope to continue it in the State playoffs,” said Buggs.

    Unfortunately, it wasn’t the same comeback story for the girls, who were recently eliminated

    from the CIF playoffs. But luckily for the girls, they will still be able to advance to the State playoffs.

    Before they were eliminated, the girls played against Vista Murrieta. This was a close game, with Poly was trailing 37-40 in the third quarter. In the fourth quarter, the Jackrabbits pushed through and ended up beating them 58-54.

    Their next opponent was

    Chaminade who they played as visitors on Feb. 27. Chaminade led the whole game and Poly was just not able to respond. Poly trailed the whole game and finished with the score of 66- 77. With this loss the girls were eliminated from the CIF playoffs.

    “Fixing areas we struggled, watching footage to see what we need to fix, practicing, working

    hard, changing are mentality to know we have to play harder,” said junior Eliza Matthews.

    even though neither team won the CIF championship there is still hope for a State Championship. The boys played sylmar yesterday, but the score could not be reported due to time constraints. The girls will play Mission Hills at Poly on Friday, Mar. 13.

  • Soccer Falls Flat

    The Poly girls soccer Jackrabbits suffered a devastating defeat, falling to Mater Dei in overtime in the CIF semi-finals game last Tuesday, March 3. Poly started with a strong lead, with Daria Manzano’s corner kick, which Leslie Walker took home in the 19th minute, scoring the first goal. But early on in the second half, Mater Dei showed they wouldn’t go down without a fight, and scored a goal, tying up the game. Neither team could take the win within the rest of the regulation time, so the Monarchs and the Jackrabbits headed into overtime.

    It was quite the battle, but Mater Dei rose to victory, with monarch Briana Meyer scoring the last goal. It was a heartbreaking sight on the field, seeing our lady jackrabbits fall to their knees in devastation, most of which were seniors, knowing it was the last time they’d play on that field wearing that jersey. In an interview for Gazette sports, Poly’s coach Terri Collins spoke highly of her senior girls that will go out as real champions.

    “These seniors changed the tide and the culture here,” Collins said. “We went into the gym and lunch and looked at a league banner with titles in 2012, 2014, and 2015.”

    Our soccer seniors spoke out on their abrupt end to their high school soccer career at Long Beach Poly.

    “It’s a sad moment knowing I’ll never wear a poly jersey again,” said senior Imani McDonald, goalie of four years here at Poly. “These past four years had shaped me into the person I am…they’ve taught me what it takes to overcome adversity and people’s opinion of you. I am extremely grateful for what Poly soccer has done for me.”

    But even with their season ending, the Poly soccer girls know their gained experience and bond with each other will last forever.

    “It was a bitter sweet moment, but mostly bitter…but we’ve accomplished so much this season and had to overcome obstacles to get as far as we did. My four years on poly soccer allowed me to build strong relationships with a group of girls that I will cherish forever,” said senior Ckelana Ceaser.   The girls soccer seniors know they are going out strong with love, honor, and opportunity surrounding them.

    “There’s nothing to hang our heads about. We had an amazing season, and I’m so blessed that I had this opportunity to play with some amazing girls. These four seasons have just made me become a better player because you’re playing with some amazing players and you all are doing something together you’re so passionate about,” said Manzano.

    With the final CIF girls soccer game ending with a 2-1 defeat, the girls will walk away with their heads held high, ready to take on the next challenge in the soccer world awaits them.

     

  • Slam Dunk On These Hoops

    The 2014-2015 basketball season is finally here for the Jackrabbits. The boys team is starting the season off great, winning first and second place in their first two tournaments. In their first tournament, the Pac Shores Tournament, the team looked amazing with a 4-0 winning streak against Taft, Inglewood, Westchester, and Redondo Union.
    The championship game against Redondo Union was nail-biting, going into overtime with Poly scoring the final basket, taking a 63-61 lead with 2.9 seconds remaining. Poly’s defense was able to hold off Redondo for the last seconds, and the Jackrabbits were able to win the game. Sophomore Zafir Williams was awarded Player of the Game with his contribution of 27 points to the scoreboard.
    “I just came in the game feeling confident, doing what I needed to for our team to get the win,” said Williams.
    On Dec. 12, the boys played their second tournament as they participated in the Beverly Hills Tournament. The Jackrabbits started out strong with receiving 15 plus wins in their first 3 games of the tournament against Birmingham, Santa Monica, and Westchester. Unfortunately, the Jackrabbits fell short in the championship game, losing 63-59 to Loyola. Despite this one loss, the Jackrabbits have started off this season great and look to continue this spark going into the Tarkanian Classic Las Vegas tournament this week from Dec. 17 to 21.
    “As a team we have gotten better playing together and playing a lot of people in the games,” said junior point guard Drew Buggs.
    The Lady Jackrabbits are also successful, as they went 4-0 in the Redondo Union Tournament, winning the championship 63-57 against Chaminade as well. The girls team heads off to Arizona for the Nike Tournament of Champions this upcoming week of Dec. 17 to 21. Both teams are starting off the season strong and aim to continue with great success. Even though they have the same two weeks off from school, they are still focused on basketball playing games well throughout the whole winter break. The boys will face Wilson on Jan. 7, and the girls will face Millikan on Jan. 9 for their first Moore League games.

  • Jackrabbits Not So Brave

    The Long Beach Poly football team ended their season on Friday, Nov. 28 when they lost to St. John Bosco 33-21. The team finished 11-2, with another undefeated Moore League record.
    After a nail-biting 34-33 win against Servite in the first round, the team prepared to face Crespi High School. The Celts favored running the ball the entire season. Their veer offense used three running backs, and seldom passing. While most teams had difficulty defending the veer, Poly solidly shut it down.
    Poly had difficulty adjusting to the veer in the first half. The Celts appeared to march down the ball with ease, scoring time-consuming touchdowns. Josh Love was getting pressured. Entering halftime, Crespi led 21-13.
    The second half of the game was all in favor of Poly. Poly outscored the Celts 31-6 in this half. The Jackrabbits took advantage of the Celts’ cover 0 defense, allowing for deep yardage plays. Poly bullied the Celts in the second half, both on the ground and in the air.
    After beating Crespi, the team upheld their tradition of practicing on Thanksgiving. This tradition signifies that the team is deep enough in the playoffs to compete afterwards. They prepared to face St. John Bosco High School, the defending national champions. However, the Braves were seeking redemption from losing to Poly two years ago. The “Fog Bowl” resulted with Poly winning 13-10.
    The two teams faced at Cerritos College on Friday, Nov. 28. With all the hype surrounding the game in front of a sellout crowd the Jackrabbits got off to a quick start. After some quick defensive stops, Josh Love completed a deep touchdown pass to senior receiver Johnnie Rucker, putting Poly up 7-0. After going back and forth, Bosco led at halftime 20-14. Mistakes hurt the Jackrabbits, with a pick-six and muffed punt.
    Poly’s second half was a struggle. With Love sidelined with injury, the team could not generate enough offense to win. With just a single touchdown in the second half, Bosco won 33-21.
    “It just didn’t go our way. I wish I had another shot,” said senior quarterback Josh Love.
    Currently, the football team is in off season practicing and conditioning. During the spring time, the team will have practices more focused to get ready for next season.